Car-door.



No. 791,662,l r I PATBNTED JUNE'G,1905.

. v W. P. WENDT.

CAR DOOR. APPLIOATION FILED MAY, 12. 1904.

SHEETS-SHEET 1.

/1 Homey PATENTED JUNE 6, 1906. W. F. WENDT.

CAR DOOR.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 12. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2,

UNITED STATES Patented June 6., 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

CAB-Doon.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 791,662, dated-June' 6, 1905.

Application ile. May 1 2, 1904. I Serial No. 207,603.` l

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. WENDT, .a citizen of the United States, residing at Altoona, in the county of Blair and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improveinents in Car-Doors, of which` the fol" lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to car-doors of the type designed particularly for freight-cars, and has special reference to improved cardoor mounting or hanging whereby the same may be opened and closed with facility, while at the same time providing an arrangement wherein the door when closed will be seated within the door-opening flush with the side of the lcar-body.

With these and many other objects, which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated, and

claimed.

The essential features of the invention involved in the manner of hanging and fastening the door are necessarily susceptible to' some structural modification without departing from the scope of the invention, but the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a fragmentaryy side view of a car body and door, illustrating the improvements contemplated by the present invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1`. Fig. 3 isa detail elevation of one of the sliding door-hangers. Fig; 4 is a sectional View thereof on the line 4 4 of-Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail elevation and projected end view of the threshold-strip carried at the bottom edge of the door. Fig. 6 is a detail elevation and projected end view of the drawhandle. Fig. 7 is a detail elevation and edge view of one ofthe eyebolts which provides for the pivotal mounting of the draw-handle. Figs. 8- and 9 are elevations and end views, respectively, of the guiding-chain holder. Figs. 1 0 and 11 aredetail elevations of one of the keeper-plates for receiving, the bottomlock keys for the door.' Figs. 12 and 13 are preferred embodiment thereof is shown inthe side and top views, respectively, of the seal-` are a series of detail elevations of the postchair. Figs. 17, 18, land 19 are detail views showing the applied position of the post-chair.

Like characters designate corresponding parts'in the several figures of the drawings In carrying out the invention no change is required in the body of the car nor in the general structure of the door, so for illustrative purposes there is shown in the drawings a portion of-an ordinary car-body, designated by the numeral 1 and provided in thev side thereof with a door-openingv2, formed with .a rabbeted seat 3, in which seat is designed to register the car-door 4, lwhereby the same when closed will lie flush with the sides of the fastening for the door. Figs. 14, 15',- and 16 and slidably suspended from the liXed L- shaped track'- rail y 6, rigidly mounted` upon suit-able supports 7 upon the car-body above the top of the door-opening 2. Any suitable number of hangers 5 may be employed, and each of the same essentially comprises an upper slide-hook 8, a lower door-plate 9, and an intermediateswinging lever-link 10, piv Otally connected with the contiguous ends of the slide-hook and door-plate. The upper slide-hook 8 of each hanger is of an. L shape in cross-section, corresponding to the shape of the-track-rail, and is provided at its terminals with guard-anges 11,eXtendingabout the edges of the track to prevent displacement of the hanger. Below the portion engaged with the track-rail the said slide-hook 8 of each hanger is provideduwith a pendent bifurcated supporting-arm 12, having a chamfered end 13,-corresponding to and matching the complemental chamfered upper end 14 of the door-plate 9, which vis bolted or otherwise suitablyfastened to the car-door at or contiguous to the top edge thereof. The intermediate swinging lever-link 10 for each hanger has a pivotal connection at one end, as at 15, with the upper end of the door-plate, an intermediate pivotal connection 16 with the arm 12 of the slide-hook, and at the end opposite the pivotal connection 15 provided with a shouldered stop-head 17 ,-deiiected at right angles to the shank of the link and adapted to engage against the outer side of the supporting-arm 12 when the door-plate 9 is hanging in the vertical plane of the slide-hook and the said arm 12, as may be seen from the dotted position of parts in Fig. 4 of the drawings.

rIhe swinging lever-link 10 of one of the slide-hangers is adapted to have connected to the outer end thereof, as at 18, the upper end of an adjusting cable or chain 19, passing through an upper guide ring or loop 20, fitted upon the outer side of the car-door, and also passing through the lower guiding cable holder 21, mounted upon the car-door below and in the vertical plane of the upper ring 20. The lower end of the cable or chain 19 has attached thereto a lifting-handle 22, and the holder 21 essentially consists of a base-block 23, bolted to the door and provided with bifurcated ends 24, removably receiving the end tongues 25 of a detachable cap-piece 26 at the outer side of the block 23 and forming a part of the guide-opening 27 therethrough.

The door 4 has rigidly fastened to its lower edge, at the outer side thereof, a longitudinally-disposed threshold-strip 28, provided with an upturned base-ange 29, having a series of key-openings 30 therein, each of which receives al bottom-locking key 31, adapted to be seated in asocketed keeper-plate 32, bolted on the car-body directly below the bottom edge or sill of the door-opening. Each of the bottom-locking keys 31 preferably has connected thereto a holding or guard chain 33, attached to the car-body and serving to prevent loss of the key. Any number `of the keys 31 may be employed and when engaged with the threshold strip and the keepers therefor the same necessarily provide a firm bottom fastening which resists any outward strain imposed upon the door at the bottom thereof.

At one edge thereof the door has associated therewith a seal-fastening essentially comprising a pivotal hasp 34, pivoted at one end, as at 35, to the bearing-bolt 36, secured in the Aedge portion of the car-door. The said hasp 34 is adapted to be swung over akeeper-post 37, mounted in the car-body adjacent to the door-opening and having a latch-opening 38, adapted to receive therethrough in front of the hasp the swinging end of a hook-latch 39. This latch is pivoted at one end, as at 40, upon the body of the hasp and at its other end is provided with an eye 41 for receiving the seal-wire.

To facilitate thehandling of the door, there is associated with the same a swinging drawhandle 42 of an approximate U shape and provided at opposite ends with the pintles 43, having terminal retaining-lugs 44, adapted to be inserted through and held at one side of the oblong bearing-eyes 45, provided in the outer ends of the eyebolts 46, fitted in the car-door at spaced points.

When the sealor hasp fastening is unlocked and the bottom-locking keys removed, an outward or lateral pull upon the draw-handle 42 serves to swing the lower end of the door off of the bottom sill and out of the door-opening, with the resultof permitting the door to swing from its upper end downward and outward, thereby clearing the side of the car, so that it may be readily slid along upon the track-rail. When the door is to be closed, after sliding back in front of the door-opening a ydownward pull upon the adjustingcable through the medium of the lever-links of the handles provides for swinging the upper end of the door back into the seat of the door-opening, and at the same time by moving the lower edge of the door onto the sill the same then becomes seated flush within its opening.

In carrying out the present invention it is preferable to associate with the improvements described a door-post chair, designated in its entirety by the reference-number 50 and essentially comprising a casting having a horizontal base portion 51 and the upstanding and pendent ianges 52 and 53, respectively, extending above and below the base-liange at the opposite edges thereof, as may be best seen in Fig. 15 of the drawings. The baseange 51 fits on the side sill S and is adapted to form a rest for the lower end of the doorpost D. rlhe upstanding flange 52 is bolted directly to the door-post P, while the oppositely-located pendent fiange 53 overlaps and',

is secured to the side sill S. The base-flange 51 is further provided with a perforated lug L, receiving the door-post bolt 54. This structure provides a thoroughly solid mounting for the door-post and renders it free from decay at the base.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a sliding car-door and its opening, of aiixed track arranged above the opening, a sliding hanger comprising a slide-hook engaging the track, a door-plate secured to the door, and a swinging lever-link pivoted at one end to the upper end of the door-plate, at an intermediate point pivoted to the lower end of the slide-hook, and at its free end provided with alaterally-offset stophead, said hook and plate having matching abutting end portions when in alineinent, and an adjusting-cable connected to the free end of the link.

IOO

IIO

2. The combi-nation with a. sliding car-door adapted to extend through said key-openings T and its opening, of a `xed track, sliding hanginto the keeper-plates.

ers suspending the door from the track, a. lon- In testimony whereof I ax my signature in gitudinally-arranged threslold-strp secured presence of two witnesses.

5 to the bottom edge of the oor and provided l with a1l continuous outturned base-ange hav- WILLIAM F WENDT' ing a. series of spaced key-openings therein, Witnesses: xed keeper-plates secured to the door-frame B. F. EYLART,

below the opening, and bottom-locking keys Mrs. N. E. GEE. 

